Pad structure

ABSTRACT

A pad structure is disposed on the bottom of a casing of an electronic device, which includes a skidproof piece and a slide piece. The skidproof piece is used for securing and supporting the electronic device on a plane. When the electronic device is at an oblique angle opposite to the plane, and drags the skidproof piece away from the plane, the slide piece contacts with the plane, and the electronic device is enabled to move on the plane by the slide piece.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a)on Patent Application No(s). 097135708 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Sep.17, 2008 the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a pad structure, and more particularlya pad structure disposed on the bottom of a casing of an electronicdevice.

2. Related Art

For a housing of a common electronic device such as a computer, a host,and a screen, pads are generally disposed at periphery of the casingbottom, which can assist in the firm arrangement of the electronicdevice on a plane such as a desktop and a floor. The pads also supportthe electronic device to a certain height, thus avoiding the casing ofthe electronic device from directly contacting with the desktop or thefloor to influence the performance of the electronic device due to theheat generated during the operation.

For example, in a laptop computer, the pad disposed at the bottom of thecasing thereof is mainly made of a material having a high frictioncoefficient, such as rubber and plastic, and secured on the bottom ofthe casing with a link member such as a screw, or attached to the bottomof the casing in manner of adhesion, such that the laptop computer canbe firmly placed on the desktop with the help of the retarding forceformed on the desktop due to the friction force of the pad. However, incertain cases, for example, when a salesman shows data to a customer,the retarding force provided by the pads becomes a burden, such that theuser has to uplift the whole laptop computer from the desktop, and turnit to show the content on the screen to the customer. Moreover, aftershowing, the user has to repeat the same action to operate the laptopcomputer again. Therefore, in the entire process of showing data, theneed of frequent turning causes much inconvenience in use, and the inneroperation devices, such as Central Processing Unit (CPU), are easily tobe damaged due to the shock resulting from the frequent lifting up andputting down of the computer. Or, the computer suffers from the risk offalling off to the floor because of not being held steadily. Moreover,when the user needs to alter the using position temporarily, forexample, when the user wants to alter the operation position to an areanear the desktop momentarily, the alternation of the operation positionalso requires the uplift of the whole laptop computer, thereby resultingin the inconvenience in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a pad structure, so asto solve the problem that the laptop computer in the prior art cannot bemoved momentarily on a desktop.

As embodied and broadly described herein, the pad structure disclosed inthe present invention is disposed on the bottom of a casing of anelectronic device, and includes a slide piece and a skidproof piece. Theskidproof piece is in contact with a plane, and forms a retarding forcewith the plane by the friction force of the materials. The staticfriction force of the material of the slide piece is lower than that ofthe material of the skidproof piece, so that the interference dragformed by the slide piece with the plane is less than that formed by theskidproof piece with the plane.

The skidproof piece is lifted to leave the plane when the casing of theelectronic device is slanted, while the slide piece contacts with theplane simultaneously, such that the casing of the electronic device maymove on the plane by the slide piece. Therefore, the staying and movingof the electronic device on the plane can be achieved by the differencebetween the retarding force formed by the skidproof piece and the slidepiece with the plane. In this way, a user can easily move the electronicdevice on the plane.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description given herein below for illustration only, and thusare not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1A is a schematic three-dimensional view of an embodiment accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a schematic three-dimensional view of an embodiment accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 1C is a schematic three-dimensional view of an embodiment accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a schematic view of a slide piece which is integrally formedon a casing according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a schematic view of a slide piece which is integrally formedon a casing according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2C is a schematic view of a slide piece which is locked on a casingby a link member according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of an embodiment according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view in which one side of an electronic device isslanted and uplifted according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view in which an electronic device is rotated at afixed point according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic view in which an electronic device slides on aplane according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The housing of an electronic device referred in the present inventionis, for example, a housing of a common electronic device such as acomputer, a host, and a screen, and the examples above are for thepurpose of illustration only, instead of limitation.

Referring to FIGS. 1A-1C, schematic three-dimensional views ofembodiments according to the present invention are shown. A padstructure 100 according to the present invention is disposed on thebottom of a casing 200 of an electronic device 10, and has a skidproofpiece 110 and a slide piece 120. The slide piece 120 can be adjacent tothe skidproof piece 110, and closer to the edge of the casing 200relative to the skidproof piece 110 (as shown in FIG. 1A), or on thebottom of the casing 200 at the other side opposite to the skidproofpiece 110 (as shown in FIG. 1B and 1C). Moreover, the slide piece 120 ismade of a material having a low static friction force, such as aluminummagnesium alloy and glass-reinforced plastic, the skidproof piece 110 ismade of a material having a high static friction force, such as rubberand plastic. The slide piece 120 can be integrally disposed on thebottom of the casing 200 (as shown in FIG. 2A and 2B), or secured on thebottom of the casing 200 by a link member 500 such as a screw or a plug(as shown in FIG. 2C). The following is a description for an embodimentof the present invention in which the slide piece 120 is adjacent to theskidproof piece 110, and closer to the edge of the casing 200 relativeto the skidproof piece 110.

Referring to FIG. 3, a schematic front view of an embodiment accordingto the present invention is shown. When the electronic device 10provided with the pad structure 100 according to the present inventionis placed on a plane 30, the skidproof piece 110 contacts with the plane30, so as to support the casing 200 of the electronic device, and theskidproof piece 110 provides a retarding force on the plane 30 by theuse of the high static friction force thereof, such that the electronicdevice 10 cannot move and stably placed on the plane 30. Meanwhile, adistance d is kept between the slide piece 120 and the plane 30, whichcan prevent the slide piece 120 from interfering with the retardingforce formed by the skidproof piece 110 on the plane 30, and the heightof the distance d is such that the casing 200 of the electronic devicewill not contact with the plane 30 when the slide piece 120 movesdownwards and contacts with the plane 30. Therefore, the unnecessaryabrasion of the casing 200 caused by contact with the plane 30 can beavoided.

Referring to FIGS. 4-6, schematic views of operation of embodimentsaccording to the present invention are shown. When one side of theelectronic device 10 is slanted and uplifted, the skidproof piece 110moves along with the casing 200 of the electronic device and leaves theplane 30 contacting therewith, and at the same time, the slide piece 120is caused to lean against the plane 30. The retarding force formed byslide piece 120 on the plane 30 is lower due to its material of lowstatic friction force, the electronic device 10 can be steadily moved onthe plane 30 by the slide piece 120, such that a user can easily andrepeatedly alter the showing direction of a display screen 400 of theelectronic device only by uplifting the casing 200 and making the slidepiece 120 rotate at a fixed point on the plane 30 (as shown in FIG. 5),or by moving the electronic device 10 on the plane 30 to an intendedoperation position (as shown in FIG. 6).

The pad structure of the present invention can stably place anelectronic device on a plane by a skidproof piece, and when theelectronic device is required to be moved, the movement on a plane canbe achieved by the use of a slide piece, only through slanting anduplifting one side of the electronic device. The structure of the padstructure is simple, and can not only accomplish the object of fixing ormoving electronic device on a plane, but also effectively lower the costof development and production.

1. A pad structure, disposed on a bottom of a casing, comprising: aslide piece; and a skidproof piece, contacting with a plane, and forminga retarding force with the plane; wherein the casing is slanted to makethe slide piece contact with the plane and the skidproof piece leave theplane simultaneously, such that the casing moves on the plane by theslide piece.
 2. The pad structure according to claim 1, wherein a staticfriction force of a material of the slide piece is lower than the staticfriction force of a material of the skidproof piece.
 3. The padstructure according to claim 1, wherein the slide piece is integrallydisposed on the bottom of the casing.
 4. The pad structure according toclaim 1, wherein the slide piece is locked on the bottom of the casingby a link member.
 5. The pad structure according to claim 1, wherein theslide piece is adjacent to the skidproof piece, and separated from theplane by a distance.
 6. The pad structure according to claim 1, whereinthe slide piece is disposed on the bottom of the casing at the otherside opposite to the skidproof piece, and contacts with the plane.